Legacy Lion

In Courtney's class, they each take turns having a {germ-infested} stuffed lion go home with them for a week. They are supposed to take Legacy on outings and keep a journal of his adventures.

Although Mom tried to keep Legacy at a safe distance, he did join us for a few adventures. {This is the last picture we have of my favorite headband-- Courtney lost it shortly after this picture was taken}We went to a darling play called "Honk!" that one of my Young Women performed in. The kids absolutely LOVED it, and we had honking and quacking at our house for the rest of the week.

Saturday at Firebird Raceway

It has become a yearly spring tradition for the boys to attend the drag races and Monster Truck Nationals at Firebird Raceway with the Chapples.Spencer, Xander, and McKay (2008)

Spencer and Xander (2009)


For the Dads, it is all about horsepower and speed.......
Ferrari : 1/4 mile @ 120 miles per hour.
Top fuel boat: 1/4 mile @ 244 miles per hour.
Jet car: 1/4 mile @ 301 miles per hour.


For the kids the biggest thrill was the 3 minute ride on the "Boogie Monster"....top speed: 15 miles per hour.

Happy Birthday, Xander Man!

The last 10 years have flown by--I wish time would slow down a little. Alexander, we are lucky to have you as a part of our family. You have such a kind heart and happy disposition, you make the world a much brighter place for us.Good morning! We woke up extra early so Dad could see the opening of the gifts. We trade off every other year doing a friend/family party, so this year was just family. Kind of a bummer having to go to school and do homework on your special day:(

Darren & I were downright giddy about this gift. It has been so difficult to keep it a secret. Darren was able to get Manny Ramirez's autograph on this picture! We were so excited to see his reaction, that we videotaped it. Here's how the big moment went:

{Upon opening present}

Xander: Hey, I know this guy... who is it, number 55...

Darren: That's not a 55.

Xander: Huh. It looks like a 55.

Darren: Nope. It's a 99.

Xander: Manny Ramirez?

Darren: Yep. He signed it!

Xander: Oh. Well, it looks like a 55.

That was the BIG reaction we'd been waiting for.

He requested that I make a baseball cake. Let me tell you, I've gotten my money's worth out of this cake pan. It's been a basketball twice already.
Our big 10-year-old had a baseball game {again} this year on his birthday. He was thrilled to finally get his own batting helmet. Darren made it look wicked cool with the Dodgers, Red Sox & Twins logos on it.
He's safe at home! Cherish all the time you can with your kiddos. They grow up too quickly. It's hard to believe we have a son in double-digits that wears the same size shoe as his Momma!

Just Peachy

We'd totally given up hope on this scrawny little stick we've had in the backyard for last few years, thinking it was long gone. Then one day this spring, it had green leaves and pink blossoms on it. The buds have turned into fuzzy little peaches! They've been holding their own, even in all the wind we've had lately. Yea!

Happy Easters!

Hope you had a beautiful day with your families.

Oh no! Not the ears...what?? What??? Poor lil' chocolate bunny.The bunny brought the kids some books filled with Greg Olsen's art. {He grew up across the street from my Grandma--she has an original!} The books are filled with sweet messages & images of the Savior.
They found all their dyed eggs {aka soon to be deviled eggs} in the backyard.Handsome Hunk
Posing Princess
Yes, this was the best I could do.

Super Scout Saturday

This is the last Saturday before Alexander is a Webelo Scout, so we're sprinting to earn lots of arrows. Typically we don't have very many clouds in the sky, so it was the perfect day to learn about and study them. The kiddos had fun with this little project.
We did eraser stamp drawings, classified these shells {which made me MISS Maine}, made a tin can planetarium, studied animal tracks, and lots of other things. FYI: If you're bored this summer, pick up a Cub Scout book. They're jam packed with all kinds of fun activities to do & the kids love it!

Great Grandma Peck's Quick Surprise Rolls

I'm so excited to make these tomorrow! This is my favorite roll recipe--it's so moist & yummy. I have this recipe in my Great-Grandma's handwriting, so it's a treasure.

1/2 cup warm water

2 pkgs. active dry yeast

1 cup lukewarm milk

1 cup unseasoned mashed potatoes

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup shortening

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour

Mix all this together. Roll out & cut. Put in a buttered pan, cover with a damp towel. Let rise 1 to 1-1/2 hours before you pop in oven. Bake @ 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.

A Typical Dinner

When Dad's not home. You got it, slushies from QT and instant oatmeal. And yes, Alexander is wearing an oven mit. The kids were completely worn out after Field Day today @ school!

This Little Gal...

...doesn't have a chance @ being a tomboy. How pink can she get?!?

Poor little Courtney has been fighting a cold all week. She was a real trooper @ soccer practice today.
Kick it!

Scrap-A-Thon

We had a fun crop night Friday. I never get as much accomplished as I'd like, but it is fun talking and having a night out {or in}, anyway! Here are a few I finished this weekend: Alexander & my cousin, James. They are 10 days apart and Grandma made them matching jammies. They lived in Boston for a year, so we got aquainted with their family when we lived in Maine. They are doing a military tour in Italy right now.
I bought these stickers many years ago, with this layout in mind. I got them @ AC Moore, my favorite craft store in Portland, Maine. It was pretty much our only scrapbook resource {that and Wal-Mart!}. I haven't used a sticker in ages...
This was our 2nd 4th of July in Boston. We got to watch the fireworks from MIT tower, and it was incredible! That's Courtney's little bald head.

This one is a bit purplicious for my taste, but stitching the title and accents made me feel like a domestic goddess:)

Simple. I took these pics outside where the sun was shining. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm crazy-- especially while I was chasing one layout that blew away:)

Sun Wave Soccer

Courtney has been asking me for a month now when soccer is going to start. It's her 1st year playing, and she is SO excited to be on the Sun Waves!
They won their game last week {the camera was @ Pine Wood Derby} and won again today! She is lucky to have great coaches that really encourage the kiddos. She's running to give a high-five to Coach Erik.
Sun Waves!!!
I thought this was pretty funny. After the game, Alexander was her water bottle man. He said, "Like professionsal football players have. You know, the guys that pick up their stuff and give them water?"

Classic moment. I caught her 1st soccer fall on video:) She jumped right back up and cheered because her team scored a goal.

Paper Mache Counter Tops

Yesterday I spent hours clipping and organizing my coupons. It got a little tedious, so I left the rest of the Q's out on the counter and started cleaning out the freezer instead.

At one of Darren's conventions, he received one of those mugs that have the liquid inside them {that you freeze and it keeps the beverage cold}. In big letters on the side of it, it says, "BEER BUST." I didn't want people thinking we drank beer, so I set it out on the counter to be thrown away.

I got distracted again and came back later to find all my coupons glued in a paper mache mess on my counter top. Yes, the beer mug had it's revenge. There was a crack in it, and as the liquid inside melted, so did my coupons. I tried to salvage as many as I could, drying them out on my baking rack and paper plates.

I think I deserve the "El Cheap-o" award today, don't you think?

I'm In the Mood...

To scrapbook! I'm on a roll... this Friday- craft/crop night @ my house. Put your kids to bed early and come over! Give me a holla if you plan to come. I'll make BYU brownies... It must be a little overcast today-- I took these pics outside and they turned out a little dark. Not much entertained Courtney when she was a baby, but she found these beads while we were decorating the tree and was happy!
OK, let me explain. I rarely use scrap pages from a class {don't ask me why} but I had to use this one! In my OCD-ness, I was compelled to make another page to match it, but didn't have the same exact paper. It looked a lot better late last night. In the light of day, they TOTALLY don't match! Ugh.

Sunday Fun

Adam & Michael made the trek to our house so the kiddos could play one more time before they headed back to Montana. Our church doesn't start until 2:00, so they were able to have lunch and visit for awhile. Proof that the kids had fun playing: Michael's flushed face:)
He is a "chicken monkey" boy! {His favorite insult}

Adam wanted me to take a picture of their fun rental car. Michael named it "Herbie." Alexander kept talking about the Pinewood Derby, and Michael kept correcting him, saying, "You mean Pinewood HERBIE!?!"

Pinewood Derby--Year 2

Alexander loves a theme. {Must be genetic!} This year Alexander is playing on the Twins baseball team, so he wanted his car to have the Twins logo on it.Priming and paintingSmoothing out the axles
The cars! We combined with another ward, so there were quite a few participants. Alexander's car is the dark blue one with the Twins logo on it. I thought it was ingenious that he painted the wheels white with red threads to look like baseballs.
He and another scout tied for 2nd place. Xander was fine with taking 3rd. What a great sport. All smiles and genuinely happy for everyone who participated. Way to go, Twins!

If You're Sick of the Dodgers...

Don't read this post:)We got a fantastic surprise this weekend! My bother, Adam, and his son Michael flew into town for the NCAA championships. They had a free day on Friday and wanted to see a Spring Training game. Please twist our arms some more...

Darren got us awesome seats on the front row of the Dodgers/Royals game. My brother and I are the same age for 2 weeks in March. He's 11-1/2 months older than me. My poor Mom. Adam is a doctor up in Montana. He said he'd never seen so many pairs of shorts in his life. It was perfect weather!
An umpire came and gave Courtney a foul ball. She was so excited, and kept saying, "Look what Blue gave me!" {We call the umps "Blue."}

And MANNY was out playing today. Three base hits-- way to go!
The boys looked awesome in their matching shirts. Michael is wicked smart and such a fun little cousin. Much of his relationship with Alexander is based on Nacho Libre. Needless to say, there are a lot of wrestling moves and "Anaconda Squeezes" when they play.